Protocol
by JackiLeigh
Summary: The conversation Tim and Ziva should have had during 'Dead Air.' Warning: Ziva bashing.
1. Chapter 1

PROTOCOL

 **AN: Another Dead Air story, from a very different angle, the conversation that should have gone on between Tim and Ziva.**

Tim looked at Ziva. Had he heard her right? Did she want to turn down the radio? He stared at her. She actually turned the volume down. She then went back to her crossword puzzle.

Tim couldn't believe it. He could never even entertain doing such a thing. He knew Tony would never do that to him. And before Tim realized it he had reached over and turned the volume back up. He couldn't leave an agent out in the field without backup.

Ziva looked at him. She was glaring in fact. "I do not wish to hear DiNozzo rumble on."

"It's ramble on." Tim corrected her. "And we are out here working, Zva. Part of that is listening to Tony." Tim paused. "You can always go back to NCIS and explain to Gibbs why you can't or won't follow his orders."

Tim watched her. He noticed her change in expression. He knew that she wouldn't dare turn it down again.

Ziva felt cornered. She had broken protocol. And it was severe breach, even if it lasted only a few seconds. She was not sure it was a reprimandable offense, but, if it was…..She needed to keep this job. She had to keep it to stay in the U.S. And she needed for Vance and Gibbs to never find out about her breach.

Ziva looked at Tim. "You cannot mouse me out."

"It's rat, Ziva." Tim replied. "And what you did could have caused us to miss Tony, if he called us in distress."

"It was only…."

"How long would it have been off, if I hadn't turned it back on?" Tim asked. "Another couple of seconds? A couple of hours? How long?"

Ziva didn't answer.

"I can't not say anything. We're supposed to be listening to him, Ziva, to Tony." Tim replied. "Even now, I…we are supposed to be listening." He paused. "We shouldn't even be having this discussion."

Ziva listened for a moment. "Tony has not been injured. You still hear him, yes?"

"I do still hear him, Ziva." Tim said. "But that is hardly the point."

Ziva still didn't seem to get it.

"It is not okay to break protocol, as long as nobody gets hurt. That's faulty reasoning."

Ziva was surprised by Tim. She had been able to manipulate him in the past, rather easily. Now, all of the sudden McGee was standing up to her. She was not sure she liked it. She tried to intimidate Tim, just the way she had in the past. It didn't work.

Tim saw Ziva's looks. But he was not going to be intimidated this time. And as Tim though about it, he realized he had allowed Ziva to intimidate him a lot. Tim then thought back to when he first came to NCIS. He was very timid, and Tony had toughened him up. Tim realized the process had been slow and covert. McGee had no idea Tony had an agenda, a plan, in mind when he had teased and taunted the young probie, it seemed mercilessly. But that was all a part of the plan, a part of the process of making Probie Timothy McGee into a strong confident agent.

Looking back at it now, Tim realized that he had let Tony down, a little, in that respect, that Tony's lessons had not been effective. But that couldn't have been further from the truth. The fact remained, though, Tim had allowed Ziva to intimidate and coerce him, since she had been at NCIS. But Tim was putting a stop to it. He had stood up to her. He had made her listen to him. And she had believed him and did not attempt to turn the radio off again.

Ziva was very contrite and conflicted. She knew she had been wrong in not following procedure. But nobody had gotten hurt, so why did McGee want to get her in trouble for what she thought was no good reason. She would have to talk to Tim. She had to get him to see that reporting the incident would only lead to trouble for both of them. And the fact remained, nobody had been hurt. As such, nobody needed to know of Ziva's indiscretion. She had to make Tim understand.

"That's not the tip, Tim." Ziva said. "Tony is well. There was no harm done…."

"It's point, Ziva." Tim corrected her. "And there is, Ziva. It's called protocol, you know, rules and regulations."

"I still do not see the necessity." Ziva said, shaking her head.

"We have to obey rules here, Ziva." Tim told her. "I know that assassins have their own set of rules. But you are no longer a Mossad assassin. You work for NCIS and, as such, you can't just make up your own rules. There is agency…."

"Yoda, Yoda, Yoda." Ziva said. "It's all water under the table."

Tim started to address her idioms. But the protocol issue was much more important.

Tim shook his head vehemently. "I…we follow procedure, Ziva. It's not a question. Just because Gibbs wasn't here…."

"There is no need to report an incident that did not happen." Ziva reasoned.

Tim shook his head sadly. "You. Just. Don't. Get. It."

Tim and Ziva ended their conversation as Tony approached the car. The tension was high as Tony got in, but if he noticed, he gave no sign. He just asked for a bottle of water and then started sneezing.

(Continued per request!)


	2. Epilogue

Epilogue

The ride back to the office had been strained. Ziva kept looking at Tim. Tim kept his eyes on the road. And Tony, sitting in the back, obvious to the drama, kept coughing his head off.

Tim had already made his decision. He had to tell somebody what Ziva had done. He had to because, in his mind, if this was her attitude, then what had she already done that might have put the team in danger? What might she do in the future, if she can't even realize how serious this situation really is?

McGee was not sure that Gibbs was the best person to go to about this. He knew that Gibbs treated Ziva special. McGee also knew that Gibbs would be highly upset if Tim went over the team lead's head to Vance. And then there was the one he really dreaded, he had to tell Tony. And he had to tell Tony first, before Ziva could put her spin on things. If she even chose to tell DiNozzo what happened, at all.

Tim decided to go down to Autopsy to talk to Tony. And he had an ulterior motive. Ducky and Palmer could act as witnesses, if there were any problems. And Tim anticipated problems.

"Tony?" Tim said, walking in while Ducky was examining the SFA.

Tony tried to talk, but Ducky stopped him. "Anthony appears to have lost his voice, Timothy. He will not be able to respond to you."

Tim sighed. "That's probably for the best."

Tony started to smile and make a joke, then he saw that what McGee was going to say was serious. He gave the young agent his full attention.

"I just…." Tim fumbled. "I don't know how to say this. Maybe I am making too much of it, maybe…." He said seeming to talk to himself, only he was speaking out loud.

"Out with it!" Tony mouthed.

Tim didn't see Tony when he tried to speak, so Ducky spoke up. "What is it, Timothy?" He could see the young man's concern also. McGee looked at the two of them, he blew out a breath and just blurted it out. It's better that way, just yank off the Band-Aid. "Ziva turned the radio down while we were trying to get voice prints. I turned it back up right away. And she has no idea…she doesn't think she did anything wrong."

"What?" Tony croaked out. "She did what?"

Tim nodded.

"Timothy, is it possible…?" Ducky started.

Tim shook his head. "No, Ducky. Ziva and I were in the car listening. Tony was out getting the voice prints. It's…I was right there, inches away. No mistake." He paused, shaking her head. "And when I called her own it she basically said, No harm, no foul."

"That's bullshit." Tony croaked out again. He pushed himself off the table and grabbed his jacket. "Gibbs know?"

Tim shook his head.

Tony started out the door and to the elevator. "Time he found out his princess ain't perfect."

"Anthony," Ducky called out to him. "only talk when and if you must. Oh, and I'm sorry, Dear Boy." He could see how upset Tony was over the news.

Tony nodded to Ducky before he and Tim disappeared onto the elevator.

"I don't know about this, Tony." Tim started. "Gibbs is just...t's like you said. She can do no wrong. But, she is not Kelly, and she never will be." He paused. "I thought about just going to Vance first…." He let the statement fall.

"Vance…not my biggest…fan, but …understands teamwork." Tony said. "Maybe he'll do something." Neither man had much hope where Gibbs was concerned.

Tim and Tony headed up to the bullpen. They went to their desks and sat down. Gibbs was not there and nobody knew where he was. But, he returned a few moments later with a fresh coffee . He sat it down on his desk and looked around the bullpen at his agents. He could tell something was wrong.

"Ducky check you out, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

Tony nodded.

Ziva cast a smug look at Tony then returned to typing her report.

"Gibbs," Tim spoke up. "I need to talk to you."

Gibbs turned his attention to Tim, waiting for him to speak.

"Your office." Tim said, indicating the elevator.

Gibbs looked confused, but didn't say anything as he followed Tim to the elevator.

Ziva's look turned into one of concern. She stood and started to go around her desk to catch up.

"Sit Down, David!" Tony managed, the edge and anger evident in his voice.

Ziva stopped and looked at the senior agent, surprised. "You do not…!"

"Oh…I most definitely do." Tony said, his voice growing weaker. "They need you, they'll call you!"

Ziva looked at Tony. She knew that he knew what had happened. And soon Gibbs would know too. She also knew barging in on them would not help her case. She sighed and resumed her seat and tried to type her report.

Tony was not looking at her, but she could feel his anger. She needed to explain herself, somehow, some way.

"Tony, you did not get injured. I do not…?"

"How long would it have stayed off?" Tony asked, cutting her off.

"What do you…?"

The senior agent cut her off again. "How long?"

Ziva couldn't answer that question. She had no words.

"Two seconds is too long." Tony's voice was fading, but he still managed to say what he had to, to her. "Way too long when I could have run into those home-grown terrorists behind any one of the doors I knocked on."

Ziva didn't speak, what could she say?

"You're a danger and a liability to this team." Tony told her. "And I'm gonna make DAMN sure that Vance knows it."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim waited until the doors closed, and Gibbs flipped the switch before he spoke.

"Gibbs, I…this is not an easy thing to say." Tim admitted. He was still a little scared of the man, even after all these years.

Gibbs didn't push Tim, he could see how much the man was struggling. He could see, too, how much it meant to him to say it.

"While we were…Ziva and I were in the car. She…Ziva turned the volume down so that we couldn't hear Tony. She…she said she was tired of hearing his voice. I turned it right back up, Boss. But…but she acted like it was no big deal. And it was only down for a second or two. But, if I hadn't turned it back up. I honestly don't know how long she would have left it down."

Gibbs considered what Tim was saying for a moment. "Would Abby have proof of this?"

Tim looked at him for a moment. "Not of her turning the volume down, no. But she might be able to hear a little of our conversation. It might have come through. But I don't know."

Gibbs flipped the switch again. He then pressed to button for the floor to the lab. By the time he and Tim walked in, Abby was pacing and wringing her hands. She had listened to the tape. And after she played with it, she cleared it up and she could hear a second conversation perfectly. She heard Tim and Ziva. And she didn't like what she'd heard.

"Did she really do that, Timmy?" Abby asked. "Did Ziva really…?

Tim nodded.

"I need to hear it, Abby." Gibbs told her.

Abby looked at Gibbs for a moment before she replayed the conversation.

Gibbs sighed. He didn't say anything. He just left the lab. Tim quickly ran to catch up. Abby also jumped into the elevator before the doors closed.

Gibbs and Tim got off the elevator on the fourth floor with Abby following behind. She stayed back a little ways. She had wanted to see what Gibbs would do to Ziva. But she didn't want to get in the way.

Gibbs stopped briefly at Tony's desk. He nodded to Tony before continuing on to his own desk. He picked up his coffee then started back out of the bullpen. "Ziva, Tim, let's go!" He said, starting up the stairs to Vance's office.

Gibbs knocked on Vance's door, bypassing his secretary who was sitting at her desk typing a memo.

"Agent Gibbs, you cannot…." She started, standing up from behind her desk.

"This is too important, trust me. He is going to what to see me. He's gonna want to know." Gibbs said as he knocked and then just opened the door, not waiting for a reply.

"Well, Agent Gibbs, an unexpected surprise, I see." Vance then noticed Ziva and Tim coming in behind Gibbs.

"You need to hear this." Gibbs said as he gave the director the flash drive he had had Abby save Tim and Ziva's conversation onto.

Vance plugged the drive into his computer. He listened intently to the whole conversation. He then removed the drive and handed it back to Gibbs.

Vance looked pointedly at Ziva. "What you did…the very idea of it is…reprehensible. I…this agency, has no use for rogue agents, Ziva David. I am very glad Agent Gibbs brought this behavior to my attention. This is not to be tolerated. You are terminated, effective immediately. You are to turn your badge and gun over to Agent Gibbs, and you will be escorted out of the building."

Ziva waited until she got out of the director's office before she tried to speak to Gibbs. She pleaded with him. "I did nothing wrong. I…no one was injured."

"The director made his decision, Ziva." Gibbs replied. "The only reason I didn't fire you is I knew you would leave thinking that you were right, that you were fired unfairly. And, I'm sure you would have tried to talk me out of firing you. And the sad thing is, it might have worked. But you aren't Kelly. Kelly would never have been as cold and heartless as you were." Gibbs shook his head sadly . "She deserves a better legacy."

The End


End file.
